Objective:
Over the next five years, the Plant Genetic Resources Preservation Program (PGRPP) at the National Center for Genetic Resources Preservation (NCGRP) will focus on the following four objectives that are both hypothesis and non-hypothesis driven.
Objective 1: Ensure secure, long-term preservation of the NPGS base collections and associated information and of safety back-up storage for designated non-NPGS plant genetic resources.
Objective 2: Facilitate and promote the secure, long-term preservation of plant-associated and other key collections of microbial genetic resources by backing-up collections from ARS and other public-sector institutions.
Sub-objective 2a: Provide secure back-up storage of public microbial collections and aid in the development of a U.S. Culture Collections Network.
Sub-objective 2b: Develop improved long-term storage systems for selected microbes.
Objective 3: Devise, adapt, and/or apply optimal methods for secure long-term preservation of plant genetic resources, and promote research, training, and domestic and international technology transfer of the preceding approaches.
Sub-objective 3a: Set priorities to monitor viability of seed collections.
Sub-objective 3b: Evaluate effects of LN2 storage on plant germplasm.
Sub-objective 3c: Establish optimal harvest time for dormant winter buds used for
cryopreservation of selected tree species.
Sub-objective 3d.1: Develop protocols for cryopreservation of selected crops.
Sub-objective 3d.2: Determine genebanking protocols for crop wild relatives, medicinal plants, and alternative crops.
Objective 4: Devise and apply new methods for high throughput phenotyping and genetic analyses of root system architectural diversity in selected crops and their wild relatives.

Approach:
The changing needs in U.S. agriculture place new demands on farmers and plant breeders for new improved varieties which require access to a wide range of well characterized plant diversity. An increasing global population will require more efficient food production, and a changing climate requires crop varieties adapted to stresses. Limited, and sometimes compromised, water resources are having greater impacts on crop yields. The National Center for Genetic Resources Preservation is one of the largest and most diverse genebanks in the world and the flagship of the U.S. National Plant Germplasm System. Our project’s overarching mission is two-fold: to provide secure long-term preservation, and documentation of diverse genetic resources. We accomplish this by close collaboration with individual crop curators from the National Plant Germplasm System to back-up and monitor their unique collections. We work to back-up world plant collections, collaborating with other national and international genebanks. Along with preserving crops for U.S. agriculture, we safeguard storage of threatened and endangered plants, crop wild relatives, plants for medicinal uses, and new crops being considered for future biofuel or bioproduct use. Linked to our mission, we propose to develop improved storage protocols of seed, clonally preserved crops, and microbes to become more efficient in our standard operating procedures. We will characterize germplasm in our collection to identify plant traits that increase crop productivity under water shortages. Our focus on germplasm preservation and characterization will ensure that farmers have access to the most productive cropvarieties and help the U.S. remain as a world leader in genetic resources preservation.